Despite having lived in New York for over 55 years, I had never visited Albany, the state Capitol. One of the goals of this trip was to correct that omission.

Wednesday was another hot, steamy day, this time with sun until the late afternoon when showers moved in. It was also the second day of national news being made in Albany. Governor Cuomo had resigned the day before (while I was atop Mount Greylock) after accusations of sexual harassment. Albany was swarming with news people. But that did not interrupt my visit.

I began by visiting a pleasant waterfront park along the bank of the Hudson River. As you can see from some of my photos, Albany suffered the fate of many cities; the downtown was cut up with elevated superhighways blocking off parts of the downtown. At least they left land along the riverfront as a park. There are walkways and bikeways to the park, but it is a long walk over the top of the expressway and its access roads to the downtown.

Following that brief visit, I drove to the State Capitol plaza. A direct exit off one of those highways to a gigantic underground garage with relatively inexpensive parking for the day. The garage is underneath the Empire State Plaza. The plaza, built in the late 1960's and early 1970s connects a series of monolithic concrete and white marble office towers surrounding a reflecting pool, all very reminiscent of (in my opinion, the worst of) 1960s / 1970s architecture. The buildings are a bit unusual, they are trapezoidal not rectangular. And most are cantilevered over the plaza walkways.

Under the reflecting pool and above the garage levels is the underground Concourse, with access to all the buildings. The concourse is over a quarter mile long; the entire plaza structure is considered by some as one of the world's largest buildings.

The construction of the plaza cost some two billion 1970's dollars. It required the relocation of some 7000 residents, mostly Italian and African American, and the demolition of about 1200 structures. There are many who feel that it is another example of 1960's "urban renewal" which did far more harm to the city than good.

After wandering through the concourse, I went up to the plaza. It was a very hot, humid sunny day, and it was quite a shock going from the air conditioned concourse to the sunny, unshaded plaza. There are regularly scheduled events at lunchtime on the plaza, a stage is set up at the southern end. The monumental steps to the state library building also serve as amphitheater seating for the events on the stage. That day there was a old time jazz band appearing. I (and a very few others) sat baking in the heat to listen.

But after a little while I was feeling well done and looked for somewhere to cool off. As it happens, the lower level of the library is the state museum, a good escape from the heat. After returning to the concourse, I took the elevator to the 42nd floor observation deck of the Corning Tower, the tallest of the buildings surrounding the plaza. There are very good views of parts of Albany and the plaza, not particularly good for photos due to reflections from the windows.

At the north end of the plaza is the actual Capitol building; the groundbreaking was in 1867, the building was opened in stages, but not declared complete until 1899. The building is the official seat of government; both branches of the legislature meet there and the Governor has an office, rarely used, in the building.

The building slowly decayed through the 20th century, losing much of its historic interior to a warren of offices. Finally, beginning in 1977 and continuing to the present, much of the building has been restored to its original historical appearance. I inquired about tours, but the guided tours are in the morning. However I was told I could take a brochure and make my own self guided tour, most of the building is open to the public once you clear airport type security, a pleasant surprise in this post-9/11 world.

I spent over an hour wandering through the building, a fascinating example of late 19th century over-the-top ostentatiousness. My time exploring was made more interesting by all the activity resulting from Governor Cuomo's resignation; the place was swarming with newspeople. I almost witnessed a press conference by the Lieutenant Governor concerning her plans as the new governor.

It was getting late in the afternoon; I wanted to visit a used record store looking for more calypso and steelband recordings.